Chapter 11.7 - Act 11: Slowly 7 (2/2)
*
“You’re here.”
“Yes.”
Cautiously opening the door to the practice room and walking in, I found teacher Kwak Jungsoo welcoming me with the same old posture. He was sitting on the piano chair.
At this point, it was so natural that it would appear strange if he wasn’t sitting there.
‘If I remember correctly, one of the legs of the chair broke once in the past. Will it be okay this time…?’
Throwing a glance at me who was caught in nostalgia, he gave a cough before gesturing downward.
“Sit down.”
“Yes.”
When I pulled a chair out and took my seat, the teacher faintly glanced around the room and opened his mouth.
“That reminds me, it’s been a long time since we sat here opposite each other.”
“…You’re right.”
Seriously.
Since he left during the start of first semester, it had been around half a year. I did see him once in the middle for a short time due to the opera performance but… As I looked up at him with a myriad of emotions, he avoided eye contact and continued his words with an empty cough.
“Back then, you might have been a bit surprised since I didn’t even say anything in particular.”
“It’s nothing.”
Well… it was true that I was surprised but when the teacher wanted to leave, isn’t it the duty of the disciple to stay still and wait?
“In fact, there’s a reason why I didn’t explain things properly. If I talked about something uncertain beforehand and it didn’t work out, it wouldn’t look good right?”
Explain?
Something uncertain?
Wasn’t he just on a business trip due to work?
Seeing me tilting my head in doubt, teacher Kwak Jungsoo scratched his hair as if he found it slightly embarrassing as he continued his explanation.
“The reason I left on a trip this time, is to meet my master that granted me my vocalisation method.”
“Your master?”
“…Yeah. You could have been in trouble due to copying my vocalisation method so the person that caused it should take responsibility.”
The person that caused it
…Even though it was just me copying him out of my own will, the teacher still said as such.
“Why such a problem occurred and how to fix that problem. I decided that those things had to be accurately understood, and because I had to hear the opinion of my master who was the foundation of my own vocalisation method, I flew off to Italy.”
“…”
So that’s why he suddenly left huh.
Facing his eyes at me heavily giving a nod, the teacher brought his hands together and interlocked his fingers.
“And like that, I visited my master and showed him your video and…”
And?
When I stared at him filled with curiosity, teacher Kwak Jungsoo replied with a smile.
“He said you were a hilarious bloke that sang with a method that didn’t suit oneself at all. It’s like wearing dad’s tuxedo with the bottom of the pants dragging across the ground, he said. Then, he said this could hurt your neck because you fully learned that vocalisation method before the body got used to it.”
In a dumbfounded manner, I was listening to my grand-master’s bombardment of facts when teacher Kwak Jungsoo suddenly formed a strange expression.
“And at the same time, he said it was a shame.”
“A shame?”
With a glance toward me, he replied while fiercely scratching his hair.
“As you know already, this vocalisation method requires quite heavily on body conditions right?”
Blinking my eyes, I slowly nodded my head.
That was obvious. Because teacher Kwak Jungsoo’s method was a bit aggressive, it required quite a large body to back it up. Even myself could only use it properly after I finished growing up, after my body became larger than average opera singers.
It wasn’t to the level of teacher Kwak Jungsoo over there but…
But why was he suddenly talking about that?
When I stared at him with a curious expression, the teacher started explaining while using his fingers one at a time.
“You have to be tall, and it helps to have a large lung capacity. In contract, the airway and the oral cavity needs to be shaped well and the head shape is important as well. There has to be space both at the front and the back in order to create a beautiful sound. It is good for the cheeks to protrude out a bit as well.”
“…You’re explaining it like you are talking about an instrument.”
“Well, we, opera singers are people that play the instrument called a human body after all.”
While I dwelled on the word, instrument, the teacher calmly opened his mouth.
“And like how there are ideal shapes for instruments, it is the same for human bodies as well. Like a violin’s elegant curve and a rigid straight line of a flute… musically speaking, there are optimum body structures just like how our vocalisation method requires a large body.”
Crossing his arms, the teacher glanced over me from the top to the bottom and continued.
“But you. Your overall structure is a perfect fit. The vocal cords are solid and the timbre is good as well. Besides, the ears are excellent and the speed of learning a new vocalisation method is quick. The head shape and the resonating chambers have good structures as well. At this point, it looks like a body perfected by instrument crafters after shedding blood and sweat to have you learn this vocalisation method. In fact, even my master was impressed after listening to it once.”
“…”
Suddenly, I thought of what happened in the prac test.
Thinking back… ‘Tristesse’ which I had been singing for the past twenty years had a higher score than the ‘Elf King’ which was sung with teacher Ku Mingi’s method. Plus, even the judges and the maestro, Timothy Dickson evaluated it higher.
I thought it was solely because of the marking criteria but, it was difficult for that to be the case because ‘Tristesse’ even had a better reaction from the audience overall.
Does teacher Kwak Jungsoo’s method suit me more?
While I was in the middle of a thinking process, teacher Kwak Jungsoo glanced over me and clicked his tongue.
“If only you were twenty centimetres, no, even ten centimetres taller.”
“Yes?”
“Like I said, you’re too short. So what if the space and structures are good? The key factor of an air pump is lacking so it all goes down the drain. If only you were slightly taller, there would be nothing more to wish for.”
“…”
“Well although it’s a shame, there’s no way around it. Fortunately, you did learn a different vocalisation method so…”
Seeing him shrugging his shoulders, I quickly added more words.
“What if I grow ten centimetres, or like fifteen?”
“Nn?”
“Since I’m still in my first grade of high school, wouldn’t I grow a bit more?”
The teacher looked at my face and tilted his head as he scratched his hair.
“Who knows. Don’t guys finish growing up around that age? I haven’t really seen anyone have a growth spurt after entering high school though…”
“But there’s still a possibility right?”
He remained still and thought before breaking out into a grin.
“Well right. If you grow taller by fifteen centimetres… you should pack your bags immediately and head off to Italy.”
“What?”
The teacher made a humoured expression.
“Teaching you will just make me upset so I’ll leave you in my master’s hands.”
“…”